Sun reorganizes company structure
So, what’s happened to the ol’ JavaSoft division?
April 22, 1998 — Sun Microsystems will reorganize the company into seven divisions, eliminating individual business units and creating new storage and consumer divisions. All divisions will now report to Sun’s Chief Operating Officer Ed Zander.
Under the gun is Sun’s software division SunSoft, which has been broken up and its products divided among the new Solaris software division to be headed up by John McFarlane, and the new Java software division to be headed up by Alan Baratz, formally president of Sun’s JavaSoft division.
The software group formally known as JavaSoft is being brought back into the fold, somewhat to the dismay of Sun’s major partners, who are already concerned that Sun is not playing the good citizen as guardian of the Java platform in a bid to become a product company.
However, sources inside Sun say that that the Java division is also due to be reorganized.
Meanwhile, Masood Jabbar will head Sun’s computer systems division, which includes servers, desktop workstations, and network computers.
Mel Friedman will lead the microelectronics division, which includes the Sparc microprocessor and Java microprocessors.
Lawrence Hambly heads the customer services division, focusing on end-user service, support, education, training, and professional services.
Janpieter Scheerder, former head of SunSoft, will head the new networked storage division, which includes all storage hardware and software products.
Meanwhile, Mark Tolliver has been named president of the new consumer/embedded markets division, which will focus on Java technologies for embedded systems (including automobiles, phones, and set-top/cable boxes), and JavaOS for Consumers software.
